Machine for trimming fabrics



Sept. l, 1936.. A. H scHuMAcHER '2,053,207

MACHINE FOR TRIMMING FABRICS Filed Aug. 31, /1935 :s sheets-Sheet@ ATTORN EYS f Sept. l, 1936. A. H. SCHUMACHER 2,053,207

` MACHINE FOR TRIMMING. FABRICS Filed Aug. .31,1955 3 Sheets-Shet 2 u. n-I u. Wu* 27 40., .1

. l BY ATTORNEYS Sept. 1, 1936. A. H. scHUMAcl-'IER v MACHINE FOR TRIMMING FABRICS F'iled Aug. 3l, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 231 Ik? 3.5' e 36 25 f/ I INVENTOR zE/a M50/MANCHE@ BY /r/aZ/LLWQ /ll/ 4M l ATTORNEYS l WITNESS we Patented Sept. 1, 1936 entre STATES PATENT OFFICE Application August 31, 1935, Serial No. 38,741

14 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for trimming fabric and particularly machines provided with a revolving fly blade which is operated in conjunction with a ledger blade for shearing off portions of the nap or pile of the fabric as the fabric is passed over a pattern device thereby producing a design or pattern on the fabric.

The object of the present invention is to improve the pattern-producing mechanism in machines of the indicated type whereby suchmachines will be enabled to produce a large variety of designs or configurations on fabric.

Other and more specific objects will appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a fragmentary front View of a trimming machine embodying the invention with several of the elements omitted to show the pattern-producing mechanism more clearly; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of that portion of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1 including the means for feeding the fabric through the machine; Fig, 3 is a fragmentary plan View of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figs. l and 2; Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken along the line 6--6 ofV Fig. 5 and including a sectional View of the fly blade; Fig. 7 is a plan View of a piece of fabric that has passed through the machine; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary front view illustrating another form of the pattern device over which the fabric passes.; Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken alone the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 in which is also indicated the positions of the fly and ledger blades and Fig. l0 is a plan view of a portion of fabric after it has passed through a trimming machine provided with the pattern device illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 6 of the drawings, the reference character I indicates th-e supporting frame of the trimming machine on which a rest support 2 is mounted for supporting the pattern device or cloth rest of the pattern-producing mechanism over which the fabric A is passed o-r drawn in the direction indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings and which is designated generally by the numeral 3. As shown in Fig. 2, the fabric is fed to the cloth rest 3 by passing it under a guide roll ll which is rotatably mounted upon the front portion of the frame I and over a guide roll 5 disposed in parallel relation with the cloth rest. The horizontally journaled shaft 6 which carries the guide roll 5 also carries a pair of temple rings I which are posi- (Cl. .Z6-16) tioned on each side of the roll 5. The temple rings 'I are provided with radially projecting pins which take hold of the fabric as it passes over them and prevent the fabric from moving laterally on the cloth rest 3 so that when the machine is in operation the cutting or shearing elements can operate upon the surface of the fabric with the proper effect. After the fabric has passed over the cloth rest 3 it rides over a card cloth covered roll 8 and then passes to a take-up roll or a iinishing machine.

Above the cloth rest 3 is journaled horizontally and parallel to the cloth rest a shaft 9 carrying a rotary fly blade l0 of usual construction. The shaft 9 is rotatably supported in bearings l I carried by a shear head or frame I2 .which also carries a properly adjusted stationary ledger blade I3, such blade being positioned substantially tangentially to the peripheral path of the fly blade II). The frame l2 is provided with trunnions I4 which are rotatably supported by the frame l and about which the frame l2 may be -p-ivoted in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, by depressing the lever I5 pivotally attached to the rear portion of such frame thereby raising the y blade Il and ledger blade I3 and enabling the operator of the machine to inspect the cloth or the cloth rest or for any other purpose. Normally however the blade-carrying head of the frame is set to a position to bring the shearing line formed between the y blade I@ and the ledger blade i3 a slight distance away from the upper portion of the cloth rest 3. The arrangement and construction of the rotary iiy blade, ledger blade and the shear head or frame therefor are well known in the art and only such portions thereof as are necessary to an understanding of the present invention are illustrated in the drawings. The rotary fly blade lil may be driven in any suitable manner, as by means of a belt (not shown) connected with a pulley i6 on the fly blade shaft 9 and with a pulley which is driven by an electric motor through suitable connecting mechanism (not shown).

The cloth rest 3 in one embodiment of the in- 4 shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

upper section of the back plate 2l] is reduced in thickness so that a shoulder 2li is formed lengthwise of said plate, such upper section being provided at its working edge with a plurality or" teeth 25 between which are notchesZ. As the cloth passes over the upper edge of the back plate 20 certain portions thereof will be elevated or raised by the teeth 25 while the remaining portions thereof will sag down into the notches 26 due to the tension under which the cloth is placed as it is passing over such plate. The teeth 25 are close to the shearing line formed between the fly blade lil and the ledger blade i3 so that the raised portions of the cloth passing over such teeth will be reduced in thickness by the blades l0 and i3 While the sagged portions will be untouched thereby forming sheared lines or grooves in the cloth.

Supported by the back plate 253 is a front plate 2l, the upper section of which is substantially thicker than the lower section so that a shoulder 28 is formed lengthwise of said plate on the rear side thereof. The front face of the upper section is inclined away from the plane of the outer surface of the lower section towards the shearing line so that the upper edge of such section is slightly thinner than the upper edge of the back plate 2S, as is illustrated in Fig. 6. The upper working edge of the front plate 2l is provided with a plurality of teeth 29 between which are notches 3Q. In the drawings the teeth and notches of the front plate 2l are sho-wn as being formed exactly like the teeth and notches on the back plate 2S. It will be apparent however that the dimensions of the teeth and notches of one plate may be formed entirely different from that of the other plate in order to diversify the designs to be cut in the cloth. The front plate 21 is slidably supported upon the back plate 2B by means of screws 32 which extend through apertures 33 provided in the front plate 2l and are threaded into the back plate 2?. The screws 32 are provided with washers 34 which function in the nature of guides to prevent outward movement of the front plate 2 during its sliding movement j and to keep the teeth 29 in operative relation with the teeth 25 of the back plate 2 and the cutting mechanism. The front plate 2l' is provided with a plurality of angularly shaped slots 35 through each of which extends a pin 36, as The pins are secured to the back plate 29 in any suitable manner and may extend through suitable perforations in the back plate 2e and be provided with heads which are confined in countersunk recesses on the rear of the back plate 2i) by the rest support 2, asv shown more clearly in Fig. 6.

It will be seen from the above that the front plate 2l of the cloth rest is mounted for longitudinal movement on the back plate 20 which is xedly secured to the rest support 2. When the front plate 2l is moved to the right from the position illustrated -in Fig. 5, the angularly shaped slots 35 and the pins 35 cause such plate to move downwardly until the pins 35 reach the highest point of the lower edges of the slots 35 or in the slots illustrated, the mid points thereof, thus Causing the teeth 29 to be drawn downwardly from the level of the teeth 25, the teeth 29 being positioned directly below the teeth 25 when the pins 3E are positioned at the mid points of the slots 35. As the front plate moves further to the right it is caused to move upwardly by the camming action of the edges of the angular slots 35 on the pins 35 thereby raising such plate and when the pins 36. are Ypositioned in the left ends of the slots 35, the teeth 29 will be positioned on the right side of the teeth 25 and at the same level. By reason of this arrangement, when the teeth 25 and 29 are positioned as shown in Fig. 5 a path as wide as the width of the adjacently positioned teeth will be sheared in the nap of the cloth by the cutting mechanism. When the front plate 2, however, is moved to the right the teeth 2Q will not be able to raise the cloth sufficiently to enable the Ycutting mechanism to shear the cloth until the front plate 21 reaches the end of its range of movement and the teeth 29 are again on a level with the teeth 25. Thus during this movement of the teeth 2S, the sheared paths in the cloth will only be as wide as the width of the teeth 25. When the teeth 29 however are again on a level with the teeth 25 the sheared paths in the cloth will again be as wide as the width of the adjacently positioned teeth 25 and 2S, the path sheared in this position of the teeth 29 being to the right of the path sheared by the teeth 25. Due to the time interval involved in moving the plate 2 from left to right, the beginning of the paths produced by the teeth 29 in their new positions start at a point below the ending of the path sheared to the left oi the path produced by the teeth 25. By thus moving the front plate 2 back and forth on the back plate 20 a design such as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings will be produced, the numeral 3l in such figure indicating the nap of the cloth and the numeral 38 indicating the sheared path produced by the teeth 25 and the reciprocating teeth 29. It will be evident that the form of the design may be varied by varying the rate of movement of the front plate 27 or by varying the form of the slots 35. The slots 35 are preferably so formed on the front plate 2l that when the latter is at its lowermost position the shoulder 28 thereof will just engage with the shoulder 2liV formed on the back plate 22. The slots 33 should be of suicient size to enable the front plate 2l to move freely on the back plate 20.

The mechanism for reciprocating the front plate 21 comprises a stub shaft 40 provided on said plate, (see Figs. 3, 5 and 5) and upon which is pivotally supported one end of a bent rod lll. The rod M may be maintained in position on the shaft 40 by means of a cotter pin which extends through an opening provided in the outer end of 7:-"2

said shaft. The other end of the rod li extends through a bearing 42 provided on the adjacent end of a sliding link 43 positioned to one side of the machine. The rod ll is securely connected to the link by a pair of nuts which are in threaded :t

engagement with a screw thread provided on the rod 4l and are disposed on each side of the bearing 42. It will be observed that by adjusting the nuts on the rod 4! the length of the rod from the bearing t2 to the stub shaft lil may be varied 'f' whereby the range of movement of the iront plate 21 is also varied.V

The link i3-extends through a pair of spaced guides 4G secured in position upon the tcp surface of a supporting platell carried by the frame l and is provided at its other end with an enlarged rectangularly shaped cam frame 4G. An actuating roller il carried eccentrically on the outer surface of a disc i8 engages with the inner sides of the cam frame di? during its rotational movement and reciprocates the latter and therefore the link 43 from right to left, as viewed in the drawings. The disc i8 is integrally formed with a sleeve 49 which is Xedly secured on the end of a shaft 5S. The shaft 5B is supported in the bearings 5i and 52 carried on the supporting brackets 53 which are secured to the frame of the machine. A driving sprocket 511 is secured to the shaft 55 intermediate the bearings 5l and 52 and is connected to a driving mechanism, not

shown, by means of a driving chain. Thus as the sprocket 56 is rotated by the driving mechanism, the disc 5S will be rotated in the same direction, causing the roller 41 to contact successively, first with one side and then the other of the cam Q6, thereby causing reciprocating movement of the link 43 and the rod 4l. The reciprocating movement of the rod il will be imparted to the front plate 2l' thereby causing the teeth 29 thereof to be positioned rst on one side and then the other of the teeth 25 on the back plate 25, as hereinbefore explained. The range of movement of the link 3 may be varied by varying the position of the roller li'i or the form of the cam frame 455 on the link 45. The range of movement of the link may also be controlled by providing a stop member 55 on the upper side thereof in operative connection with one of the guides M so that as the link moves back and forth the stop member 55 will engage with first one side and then the other of the top portion of the guide 44 and limit the movement of the link 53.

In order that the reciprocating movement of the front plate 2l may be made practically instantaneous, I provide additional means for increasing the velocity of the movement of the link i3 in the direction in which it is moved by the cam frame i5 and the roller Lil. This means comprises a casing 5l iixedly secured to the supporting plate 55 and positioned at right angles to the path of movement of the link 53. Contained within the casing 5l is a plunger 55 whose range of movement is limited by a pin 59 which is provided on such plunger and which engages with a slot 59 provided in the upper surface of the casing. The plunger 58 is arranged so that it normally tends to move outwardly under thel tension of a spring 6E) which is positioned between the plunger 58 and a screw member 5l threadedly engaging with the interior surface of the outer end portion of the casing 5l. The tension on the spring 55 may be varied by adjusting the position oi the screw 5l within the casing 5l. Pivotally supported at 6 l within the opposite end of the casing 5l is a lever member 62 whose inner end is in contact with the adjacent end of the plunger 58 and whose outer end is positioned exteriorly of the casing 5l and is provided with a` slot 63. The link 53 is provided with a pin 54 which extends through the slot 63.

It will be seen from the above that when the link 53 is starting to move either to the right or the left, as viewed in the drawings, under the influence of the cam frame d@ and the roller Vi that the lever 62 will be rotated in the same direction about its support by means of the pin @d and the slot 53 thereby causing the inner end of the lever 52 to bear against the plunger 58 and compress the spring '65. When the link i3 has moved sufficiently to cause the inner end of the lever 52 to move past the axis of the plunger 58 the tension on the spring 5l! will cause theplunger 53 to snap forwardly thereby causing the lever 52 to snap in the same direction it had been moving and through the slot 63 and pin 55 moving the link i3 almost instantly to the end of its range of movement. By forming the inner end of the lever 62 so that its surface of contact with the plunger 58 is reduced to a minimum as by making it wedge-shaped so that its contact with the plunger is along a vertical line, (see Figs. 3 and 4), the device is made very sensitive, the plunger 58 under the tension of the spring 6l] snapping the lever aside just assoon as its line of contact has passed the axial or dead center of such plunger. The inner end of the lever 62 may also be formed so that its contact with the plunger 5S is a point. Small rollers may also be provided on the inner end of the lever 52 to reduce to a minimum the friction between such lever and the plunger 58.

In Figs. S and 9 of the drawings, I have illustrated another embodiment of my invention in which both the front and back plates of the cloth rest are movably mounted on the rest support 5l. In this embodiment, the hack plate 56 is slidably supported by the sets of screws 58 and B9. The line of screws 58 extend through elongated slots l@ disposed lengthwise of the back plate 55 along the bottom edge portion of its lower section, said screws being in threaded engagement with the rest support 5?. The upper line o screws 69 extend through similarly formed slots lll provided in the upper section of the back plate 65 and into the rest support iii. The line of screws 69 also extend through rectangular slots 'l2 formed in the front plate 'i3 for slidably supporting the latter in the same manner as the front plate 2li previously discussed. Washers 'lli are provided on the screws 59 for maintaining the back and front plates in proper position on the rest support so that the teeth thereof will properly cooperate with the cutting mechanism. The screws 58 and 59 may be provided with loosely mounted sleeve members so that the front and 'pack plates may reciprocate on such screws with a minimum of friction. The front face of the rest support Si may be hollowed out, as shown in Fig. 9, to reduce the friction between the front face thereof and the back plate 55 during the latters movement. In order to give the front plate 'i3 a movement similar to that of the front plate 2l, previously discussed, a plurality of pins 'a5 are provided which are secured at their inner ends to the rest support 6l and extend out through slots 'i5 and 'il provided in the back and front plates, respectively. The slots 'l5 of the back plate are similar to the slots 'lil and il, so that no transverse movement is imparted to the back plate 55. The slots il of the front plate 'i3 however are angularly `formed so that as the front plate 'i3 is reciprocated back and forth, it is given a motion similar` to that described with respect to the front plate 2l! thereby moving the teeth of such plate away from the cutting line and changing their position with respect to the teeth on the back plate 56. The front and back plates are each provided with a rod 'd8 which is secured to an actuating mechanism such as was above described with respect to the modication in Figs. l and 6, said mechanisms being adapted to move the plates in opposite directions during their longitudinal movement. The actuating mechanisms for the plates may be disposed on opposite sides of the machine, as is indicated in Fig. 8, or they may be positioned together on one side of the machine. In the latter case they may both be associated with the shaft 55 and sprocket 55.

It will besseen from the above that when the parts of this embodiment of the invention are in the position indicated in Fig. 8 that the row of paths i9 are being sheared in the nap of the fabric as shown in Fig. l0, such paths being equal in Width to the combined Width of the adjacently disposed teeth of the front and back plates 13 and 66, respectively. On the next operation of the driving mechanisms of the plates, the back plate B6 is slidably moved to the left, as viewed in Fig. 8, causing the shearing mechanism to cut a transverse path in the nap of the material which is approximately equal to the thickness of the teeth on the back plate. At the same time the front plate 'i3 which is carried on the back plate 66 will be moved to the right and simultaneously lowered by reason of the camming action of the edges of the slots 'El on the' pins 15 thereby lowering the teeth of the front plate from the cutting line and moving them over to the opposite sides of the teeth on the back plate 66. The pins 15 and slots 'il will then raise the front plate 'i3 on continued movement of the latter until the teeth on such plate are disposed adjacently to the right sides of the teeth of the back plate and in lineI therewith so that each pair of teeth on the front and back plates are again feeding the cloth to the cutting mechanism, this time producing the row of paths 80. It will thus be seen that the operation of the mechanism will produce a series of alternately aligned rectangles on the surface of the cloth thus imparting to the surface of the material a figure or pattern of the peculiar nature indicated in Fig, 10 consisting of two series or rows of alternately spaced rectangles extending longitudinally of the fabric.

It will be observed that by providing a cloth rest composed of a plurality of plates which have longitudinal and/or transverse movement with relation to each other, I am enabled to accomplish the desirable object of supplying a cloth nishing machine which is capable of producing an endless number of designs or gures on fabric material, can be readily adjusted to change the design to be produced and is relatively simple and sturdy in construction.

While I have shown and described two specific forms of my invention, it is apparent that numerous modifications. may be made. in the mechanisms without departing from the scope of the invention as covered by the appended claims whose purpose it is to-include and embrace such modications or equivalents.

I claim:

l. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device and adapted to hold portions of a fabric surface in position to be cut by said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of pattern elements arranged for movement relativeV to each other and mechanism for causing relative movement of said elements.

2. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device and adapted to hold portions of a fabric surface in position to be cut by said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of patternV plates adapted to support the fabric and arranged for movement relative to each other and mechanism for reciprocating at least one of said plates.

3. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device and adapted to hold portions of a fabric surface in position to be cut by said shearing device, said rest comprising a support, a pattern element mounted on said support, a second patternk element mounted adjacently to said 'lrst pattern element and in sliding engagement therewith, and mechanism for reciprocating at least one of said pattern elements.

4. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of pattern elements, mechanism for reciprocating at least one of said pattern elements along its longitudinal axis and means for causing a relative movement of said elements transversely of their longitudinal axes.

5. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-Supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a support, a pattern plate mounted on said support and adapted to support the fabric at all times, a second pattern plate mounted adjacently to said first pattern plate, mechanism for causing a relative movement of said pattern plates and means for causing said second plate to move into and out of operative association with said shearing device during such relative movement.

6. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a support, a pattern plate mounted on said support and adapted to support the fabric, a second pattern plate support adjacently to said iirst pattern plate, mechanism for reciprocating said second pattern plate, means for maintaining said plates in slidable contact during such reciprocating movement and means for causing said second plate to move into and out of operative association with said shearing device during said reciprocating movement.

7. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a support, means xedly securing a pattern plate to said support, a second pattern plate, means supporting said second pattern plate in slidable contact with said rst pattern plate, mechanism for reciprocating said second pattern plate along its longitudinal axis, and camming means for causing said second plate to move into and out of operative association with said shearing device during its reciprocating movement.

8. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a support, a plurality of pattern plates mounted on said support, means for maintaining at least one of said pattern plates in operativev association with said shearing device at all times, 5%

means for intermittently moving the other of said pattern plates into and out of operative association with said shearing device, and means for causing a reciprocating movement between said pattern plates in the direction of the shearing line.

9. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of notched plates arranged adjacently toeach other and adapted to support the fabric, mechanism for causing a reciprocating movement of said notched plates relative to each other, means for maintaining at least one o said notched plates in operative association with said shearing device at all times, means for causing the other of saidnotched plates to move into and out of operative relation with said shearing device during said reciprocating movement and means for maintaining the plates in slidable contact with each other.

10. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device and adapted to hold portions of a fabric surface in position to be cut by said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of pattern plates arranged adjacently to each other and adapted to support the fabric, mechanism for reciprocating one of said plates along its shearing line and mechanism for reciprocating the other of said plates relative to said first mentioned plate and in an opposite direction.

1l. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of ra shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of pattern plates ar-Y ranged adjacently to each other Vand adapted t support the fabric, mechanism for reciprocating one of said plates along its shearing line, mechanisrn for reciprocating the other of said plates relative to said rst mentioned plate and in an opposite direction and means for causing said second plate to move into and out of operative association with said shearing device during its reciprocating movement.

12. In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated With said shearing device and adapted to hold portions of a fabric surface in position to be cut by said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of pattern elements arranged for movement relative to each other, mechanism for causing relative movement of said elements and means for causing said mechanism to move with a snap action.

13. In a pattern shearing machine, the cornbination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of pattern plates arranged adjacently to each other and adapted to support the fabric, mechanism for causing a reciprocating movement of said pattern plates relative to each other, means for causing said reciprocating mechanism to move with a snap action, and means for moving at least one of said plates into and out of operative relation with said shearing device during said reciprocating movement.

14, In a pattern shearing machine, the combination of a shearing device, a fabric-supporting rest associated with said shearing device, said rest comprising a plurality of pattern plates arranged adjacently to each other and adapted to support the fabric, mechanism for causing a reciprocating movement of said plates relative to each other, means for moving at least one of said plates into and out of operative relation with said shear-Y ing device during said reciprocating movement and stop means adapted to limit the movement of saidplates relative to each other.

ALBERT H. SCHUMACHER. 

